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CONTACT US AT P.O. BOX 1027, ATHENS, GA 30603, LEnERS@FLAGPOLE.COM
OR VIA THE “TALK BACK TO US” LINK AT FLAGPOLE.COM
OFFENDED BY PICTURE
My husband and I recently visited Athens
last week and received a copy of your Flagpole
Guide to Athens 2011-2012. We were both
very offended by the photo in the middle of
pp. 8 and 9. It is neither inviting nor polite,
and I do hope you will have it removed as it
does not promote a positive image of your
town or the school's sportsmanship.
Linda & Robert Toney
Email
A WORD FROM ATHICA
Keeping a nonprofit arts organization
afloat during these uncertain economic times
truly takes broad public support. Athens
Institute for Contemporary Art is fortunate to
have earned that backing—both locally and
nationally. Locally, ATHICA is currently run
ning a fundraising exhibition, called ATHICA
"Mystery Triennial" (AMT), and its opening
night last Saturday drew a terrific response—
both in attendance and in purchase donations.
Funds generated by the sale of local artists'
donated work will help pay for the nonprofit
gallery's operating expenses: rent, phone/dsl
and the like. ATHICA has become the place in
Athens to see provocative and exciting con
temporary art, largely due to the talents and
tireless efforts of its founding director, Lizzie
Zucker Saltz.
ATHICA mainly functions through the
efforts of volunteers, but it's Lizzie who beats
the drum and single-handedly keeps it going.
For years, she worked without compensa
tion and still only draws a tiny fraction of
what such a position of responsibility would
demand in Atlanta or elsewhere. ATHICA is a
vital asset of this art community and after 40
engaging shows over the past decade, we, the
Board of Directors of ATHICA, are indebted to
her for her vision, persistence and sacrifice in
fulfilling it.
We put on AMT to start the slow process of
growing this organization so it can continue
to operate for decades to come. We want to
thank Lizzie for her dedicated service and to
thank everyone who has volunteered or con
tributed art over the years and for this event.
This tangible support is a real boost for our
small, but important, contemporary art gallery.
John W. English for the ATHICA board
Athens
A GEORGIA HERO
Ray Anderson is one of the heroes of our
state. Sadly, he died recently. If you did not
know about him, you should. He was CEO of a
global, billion-dollar company called Interface,
founded right here in Georgia. At a time when
our state is yearning for a new brand of eco
nomic development, every business person,
college professor and student should learn
and be inspired from his example. He proved
through theory, formula and practice if you
put people and the environment first, you
actually make more money, not less.
When you talk with executives about
environmental concerns, they often say it's
just too expensive
and that you have
to make a choice
between profits and
the environment. I
know that phrase all
too well. The thing
is, environmental
groups can talk all
day, and often not
much gets through,
but when an industry
leader talks and proves that you can turn a
polluting company around profitably they lis
ten. G.E., Walmart, etc., were listening to Ray
Anderson. That was the key: he was one of
them, or so it seemed. Paul Hawken eloquently
pointed out in his eulogy that Ray looked like
a conservative Southern gentleman whose
gentle nature made it easier for people to take
in new ideas, even radical ideas. He once told
a large audience of college educators they
were teaching their students to destroy the
Earth, and he got a standing ovation.
Paul Hawken's book, The Ecology of
Commerce, inspired Anderson to turn his com
pany around from a massive polluting machine
to a corrective, restorative one. He believed
we will never have a substantial change to
our environment for the good unless big busi
ness gets on board. He saw industrialists like
himself as the biggest polluters and the only
institution powerful enough and wealthy
enough to change it. Mr. Anderson, who was
an engineer, stated that changing people's
attitudes towards green manufacturing was
often more difficult than inventing the new
technology to do it. His colleagues thought
he had lost his mind and that the company's
profits would spiral, but they didn't; the com
pany actually made more money.
He became known as the greenest CEO in
America and won numerous global awards,
but not for just environmental concerns. His
company was often considered one of the best
companies to work for in America because
he cared about people. In fact, if you look
on the Interface website right now, there is
a picture of Mr. Anderson, and it reads, "Our
adored chairman." So, it turns out that the
folks at Interface were working with a pioneer,
perhaps the leader
of the new industrial
revolution.
Ray Anderson
wrote some great
books, and you
should read them. He
was one of Georgia's
brightest stars and
one of our great
est business minds.
He worked under
the equation that our lives are what's most
important, with a bowing respect for all living
things. John Sibley called it love, like noth
ing he had ever seen before. Ray Anderson
proved you can change a polluting, billion-
dollar global company (carpet making is a
toxic, nasty business)—make it sustainable
and more profitable—and he did it through
practice, not marketing. In fact, he loathed
corporate "greenwashing," which he defined
as "letting words get ahead of deeds." His
success won him the attention of corporate
heads, U.S. presidents and world leaders. I
wish the story of this Georgia native was a
headline in every Georgia newspaper, to serve
as an inspiration to our economic develop
ment and honor his legacy. What he accom
plished was astonishing, and it's our challenge
to follow.
"We are all part of the continuum of
humanity and life. We will have lived our brief
span and either helped or hurt that continuum
and the Earth that sustains all life. It's that
simple. Which will it be?"—Ray Anderson
Katherine Kirbo
Athens
A BOATLOAD OF THANKS
So nice to see a canoeist on the cover of
your June 15 issue! You should know how
happy the Paddle Georgia paddlers were when
they arrived in town to see Flagpole featuring
the river so prominently. Richard Milligan's
article in that issue captured the spirit of river
travel and the passion behind Paddle Georgia
well.
On behalf of the board and staff at Georgia
River Network, I'd like to thank Flagpole and
everyone in Athens who made our paddlers
feel at home for their stay here in town this
summer. Our participants had a great time
paddling the Middle Oconee and Oconee rivers
and enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of
Athens.
Georgia River Network thanks the Athens-
Clarke Convention & Visitor's Bureau, Big
Dog's on the River, Clarke Central High School,
Athens Downtown Development Authority,
the State Botanical Garden of Georgia,
UGA's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural
Resources, Griffeth-Jones Partners, Gilbert
Milner, Friends of Scull Shoals, Celestea
Sharp, Russ Page, Lisa O'Steen, Stream Techs,
Half-Moon Outfitters, Broad River Outpost, -
Barberitos, Bee Natural, Earth Fare, DePalma's
Italian Cafe, Jackson Spalding, The National,
Jeremy Tarver and the many other local volun-
• teers who helped us get organized, get around
dams and get downriver from Athens.
Thank you for making our paddlers' stay in
Athens a good one!
April Ingle
Georgia River Network Executive Director
Athens
BUMPERSTICKER OF THE WEEK:
Bom to Rock
Forced to Work
Thanks, Ben. Send your sticker sightings to
letters@flagpole.com.
DAUGHiTiERtS
BQUUlILliJ
458 E. Clayton St.
706-543-4454
Mon-Sat ll-7pm
Sun 12-6pm
Why go
TC\iN
v < when
YOU CAN
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4 FLAGP0LE.COM-AUGUST 31,2011